


♡ the seas be ours ♡

by coffeeandissues



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Mermaid!Harry, sailor!louis, victorian era i think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-21 06:13:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffeeandissues/pseuds/coffeeandissues
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>there, in the middle of the abyss and holding on to the boat with long pale arms, is a mermaid. </p><p>or the one where louis is a sailor and harry is a mermaid and nothing goes as planned. </p><p>i blame pirates of the caribbean for this </p><p>♡ also on tumblr at feminissm ♡</p>
            </blockquote>





	♡ the seas be ours ♡

**Author's Note:**

> i honestly do not know how i feel about this or if it makes any sense at all
> 
> anyway
> 
> This was inspired by the poem The Mermaid by William Yeats.
> 
> i do not own the two songs harry and louis are singing, they belong to Disney, although i wish they belonged to me, they are awesome ok
> 
> also, i made a playlist for this, so if you feel like it go onhttp://8tracks.com/adriani/the-seas-be-ours and listen to it while you read, it will make this more exciting, i promise!
> 
> also, no capital letters, no logic whatsoever

_a mermaid found a swimming lad_

_picked him for her own,_

_pressed her body to his body,_

_laughed; and plunging down_

_forgot in cruel happiness_

_that even lovers drown_

 

the only source of light is the small candle niall is holding. around them, darkness. inside them, darkness. sometimes their boat collides with something, niall holds the candle close to the water then and they can see pieces of their ship all around them, huge pieces of wood that remind them just how cruel the sea is.

the water is dark -their small flame not enough to cast light upon the endless abyss underneath them- and god only knows how deep the waters are and maybe not even he. the devil maybe, the dark spirit that controls chaos and destroys order.

the storm has passed but it took their ship with it, many of their men, young ones and older ones, all of them because the waters do not care about status quo or the value of life. it came suddenly, the storm, it swallowed them alive without mercy.

"i feel like the devil is watching us" zayn breathes and pulls his legs closer to his body.

"no such talk" father liam whispers, looks around terrified. "chose other words. the sea has ears and she always listens"

of all the survivors, father liam is the only one who wasn't member of the crew, the other three -louis, niall, zayn- are men of the seas, sailors who know the sea better than themselves. he is

the most terrified it seems and he keeps praying under his breath but god can't hear him, only the sea.

in the middle of the sea, on a small boat that feels more like a grave than a lifeline, god forgot four sailors and a priest and now they are in the hands of the abyss that is surrounding them. it's too dark and the only thing they can see is each other.

"listen" father liam says and stands up but the boat shakes violently and niall pulls him back down.

but.

there, in the middle of the sea, stands a priest, tall and determine, and when he speaks the sea listens and the sailors bow their heads in respect.

"let us throw all our sins into the sea because they are weights on our weak shoulders. it's useless and shameful to resist death when it's all around you. let god take you away, let the darkness swallow you because the dark breeds the light and god is light"

a blast of cold wind hits them and they tremble.

"you say, niall, my brother, my friend, that you lost your compass in the shipwreck. wrong. as long as you can pray, you have your compass"

father liam stands up and no one stops him as he takes the candle from niall's hands. "my brothers" he says "we are bound to die together, here in the middle of nowhere"

he prays:

"pater noster qui es in coelis"

the other repeat.

"sanctificatur nomen tuum"

they repeat but niall's voice breaks.

"adveniat regnum tuum"

louis doesn't repeat with them.

"fiat voluntas t-"

father liam stops and everyone stares at him as he remains silent. then niall follows his gaze and he freezes, too. zayn looks over slowly and his eyes widen. louis is the last one to see it.

there, in the middle of the abyss and holding on to the boat with long pale arms, is a mermaid.

 

♡

his long fingers are holding tight. there is seaweed in his curls and chaos in his eyes and nothing, nothing in the world is more terrifying than his grin. somehow, it promises tears and death, it's darker than the abyss he is swimming in.

the only sound is the lap of the waves against the boat. everything is silent, waiting, even their hearts.

niall is the first one to reach towards the creature, eyes glossy like he is somewhere else. father liam stops him, holds his hands tightly, says "no" and the tremble in his voice makes it all worse.

it's just them, the abyss and a creature with a deadly grin, staring at them.

"i want to-" niall moans but father liam's grip tightens around his wrist and niall bows his head.

"no" the priest commands.

"why not?" the boy - is he a boy?- asks, his voice soft but dangerous like the water he is swimming in. it's depth matches the depth of the water around them.

everything is still but it's the calm before the storm.

"no" father liam says but secretly he is thinking 'yes'.

the need to touch is unbearable and they can all feel it in their hearts.

"you act as if i am going to hurt you" this thing complains and the corners of his white lips turn downwards. the boat starts moving then, south or west maybe (it's hard to tell when it's so dark) and that's when they see it; the long green tail that is so powerful it can move a boat with four men in it.

"leave" louis commands and this thing looks at him, surprised, it's eyes wide, amazed almost.

"so the voice i heard belongs to you"

the intensity of its stare breaks something in louis' chest and it's hard to breathe. fog is surrounding him all of a sudden, the only thing he can see is this thing looking at him and somewhere in the distance he cab hear father liam shouting "no" and he should probably turn but something inside the green eyes is calling and he keeps crawling closer it.

this is wrong, a voice inside him says

no, it's not the green in its eyes replies

the people on this boat could die, if i am not careful

then let them

"you were the one singing before" it murmurs and somehow louis ended up too close to it, so close he can see yellow in the green and evil everywhere. "a song about a sailor going back home"

their eyes catch a movement in the water behind the boy, something big and dark moving towards them, slowly. the boy smiles wider, says "you sang for me and now i shall sing for you"

it lifts itself a bit, so that its eyes are the same level as louis', revealing a long pale torso, veins visible underneath the white skin and it opens its mouth, smiling and always looking at louis.

now, there is something he should remember about creatures of the seas and singing but he absolutely can't.

 

_my heart is pierced by cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold_

_there is nothing can console me_

_but my jolly sailor bold_

two cold hands grab his face and all he can see is green eyes and sharp, the voice of father liam behind him muttering his prayers, then someone that must be zayn grips his ankle and tries to keep him on the boat but he is falling, falling, falling and he can't stop. lips of ice touch his, tasting of salt and blood and tears.

the last thing he hears is the splash of his body falling into the abyss and niall's screams of agony.

 

♡

there is blood in his mouth and water in his lungs, darkness in his head and nothing under his feet. he can't tell if he's moving or not, if he's alive or dead, his eyes won't open and his legs won't move.

the cold air is surrounding him and he can feel water everywhere; in his pores, in his lungs, between his toes.

something moves behind him, quickly and carefully, and his eyes open suddenly, alarmed.

his arms and head are resting on a damp plank that used to be, without a doubt, part of their ship's decks. he can tell from the way the wood feels against his cheek and fingertips and his stomach twists. [  
](http://8tracks.com/adriani/the-seas-be-ours)

the air is still and everything around him is dead, it seems. all he can when he looks into the water in his legs but nothing more, everything else is darkness and chaos. 

something moves again, slower and closer to him (where exactly he can't tell) but his legs are paralyzed, it seems, and he can't breathe properly when the air so freaking cold. 

he lifts his eyes from the water, sees something swim towards him, something long and lean, and his first instict is too swim away as quickly as possible. but where to? there is nothing around him. 

green eyes and a grin rise from the water. 

"no" louis breathes and tries to move in any way but he can't, he can't. "no" 

"stay still" the boy says and swims closer to him, long tail glowing underwater. "or else my friends will know you are here. you are supposed to be dead, you know" he explains and cocks his head to the side. 

"but i am not"

"because i kept you alive"

he says it like he is being kind but death would be much more pleasant that this. "where are  _my_ friends?" he murmurs, lets his head rest on his plank again because resting is useless at this point. 

the tail is swishing too close to his body. "at the bottom of the sea" he answers simply. 

"and why am i  _here_?" 

he is dangerously close to louis when he replies, "because i want you here" 

the boy has changed. his eyes are not as bright as they were before, they are more human and less scary, but he still looks like something that doesn't belong, like something that should have died a long time ago. 

"because i want to keep you" 

he looks vunerable and young, like a  _boy,_ and his huge eyes are staring, staring, staring at louis and louis only, the eyes that hold the secrets of the seas. 

"i am in pain" louis breathes and hopes that there is enough human in this boy and that he will understand something as primitive and basic like physical pain. his eyes fall on his hands then, notices that they are full of blood and cuts, and maybe the plank isn't damp only because of the water. "please ease my pain and kill me" 

his eyes widen impossible. okay, so he  _doesn't_ understand pain. he swims closer, closer, closer until the only thing between him and the sailor is the plank and all louis can do is hope for a miracle. "but i want to keep you" he says and louis swears he can feel his tail brushing against his legs. "because you sing so beautifully" 

his tone is pleading, desperate almost, and he looks like a kid, a sweet child that can kill you, if it pleases. "i want you to sing for me" 

"the water is freezing"

the boy laughs, revealing sharp teeth tainted with blood that could be louis' or niall's, for that matter. "i am not cold"

it is though. freezing.

"it is though. freezing"

he ignores louis and asks, "what's your name, sailor?" there's no use in explaining that he and louis are different and that louis  _can_ feel the cold draining life from him. 

"louis" he murmurs and coughs. there's blood mixed with his spit and the boy stares at it for a bit.

"hello, louis"

"hello"

"louis?" 

"yes?" 

"i can see your blood" he laughs, delighted. "it's all around us, can you feel it? in the water, in the air, in my  _mouth"_   he adds and wraps his tail around louis' legs, keeping them still. "it's between my teeth, look" he says and opens his mouth, revealing sharp teeth again. 

he is so caught up in his little bubble of delight that he doesn't notice how louis' grip on the plank losens or how his skin is white in a way that it should human skin should never be. 

"louis" he says, puts one cold hand on top of louis' head and pushes louis' wet hear from his forehead. "sing to me" 

"what do you want me to sing to you?" 

"the song you sang earlier, when you were on the ship" he replies and rests his own hands on the plank, smiling somewhat softly. 

louis' voice is small and breathless and barely audible and he has to stop to cough at least five times but the boy is listening carefully anyway. everything else is quiet and solemn, like the sea knows it's a dead man singing.

there is something final about death that makes everything stay still. waiting, waiting, waiting. 

 

_my heart is pierced by cupid_

_i disdain all glittering gold_

_there's nothing can console me_

_but my jolly sailor bold_

he has to stop then because his throat is burning and he is sure there is water in his lungs.

" why did you stop?" the boy asks and tilts his head to the side, frowning. "i don't want you to stop "

louis doesn't even try to explain that he can't do what he wants him to because this boy doesn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of dying or understand that louis is on the edge of permanent darkness.

"i will forgive you though" he announces like he is being the most kind. "i will forgive you and then i will kiss you"

he holds louis head in his hands (apparently he realized louis can't keep his head up on his own) and he kisses him.

his lips taste like they did before, of salt and blood and death and louis realizes this is his blood he is tasting and his upcoming death in the boy's mouth.

he doesn't kiss back, of course, there is not enough life in him to do that, so the boy does everything on his own. he is strangely gentle with louis like he knows he is about to break and when he pulls back his lips are pink and his eyes are bright.

"i love you" he says and louis wants to tell him that no, this isn't love, this is something twisted and dark and shouldn't be confused with something as pure as love. But as he looks in the boy's eyes through his own hazy ones he realizes that the boy was born in the abyss and doesn't understand what light means.

louis used to understand, now there is only the boy in front of him and the endless dark water.

"on your boat there was a man dressed in black" he remarks, folds his hands on the plank and rests his head there. "what was he?"

"was?"

"he is no more"

"he was a priest" louis swallows. It's getting harder to talk by the minute.

"a priest"

"like a teacher"

he hopes father liam found the heaven he was always preaching about, he deserves it. his body is somewhere in the darkness around louis and niall's and zayn's body, too.

louis can't imagine them dead. you can't imagine someone dead when you have known them alive.

"louis, do you want to live with me under the sea?" the boy asks.

"i can't live under the sea"

"of course you can, i'll help you"

it's obvious in his happy eyes that he believes with his whole heart that louis can't die even when he is dying right in front of him.

"i could even show you your friends, they've probably reached the bottom by now" he says it so cheerfully, like he isn't talking about corpses swimming in the sea. "if it makes you feel better, we can put them somewhere and visit them whenever you want" he offers like it's a present.

"i just want to go home" louis breathes. "talk me to the nearest shore" his voice breaks and he grabs the boy's hand. "please"

the water around them is red, he is going to drown in his own blood soon. "if you love me, as you say you do, then please"

the boy kisses him again, laughs and shoves the plank away from them violently and louis has his head underwater before he can even think about it. the boy grabs his wrists and pulls him up and louis can breathe again. "relax" he whispers and his eyes have the same look they had when louis was still on the boat. he is holding louis' wrists with an iron grip and he starts swimming, tail swishing underneath them.

"come on, my jolly sailor, the seas be ours!" he laughs and dives in, always holding louis, always laughing.

the water is cold and dark and it's inside louis' lungs instantly, filling them, and he opens his mouth to breathe but there's only water and the boy laughing as he is killing him without realizing.

"me and my sailor will be happy forever" he laughs and it echoes.

the last thing louis sees is a long tail. and the words of a song he always liked and was singing just a few hours earlier, the words that brought him here in the first place.

 

_my heart is pierced by cupid_

_i disdain all glittering gold_

_there's is nothing can console me_

_but my jolly sailor bold_

"you are my jolly sailor bold, lou, _you_ are!"

**Author's Note:**

> i am so sorry about this 
> 
> idk 
> 
> xxx


End file.
